Professional & Practical HR Support Services for Your Business

An employee was successful in her recent claim for unfair dismissal on grounds of constructive dismissal because her employer failed to deal with complaints of bullying she had raised against a colleague.

Whilst we are not experiencing the same level of redundancies of late as in recent years the EAT still takes a dim view of employers who don't fall due process and procedure when terminating employment due to redundancy.

Probationary periods are a very useful tool and an important part of the selection process, provided used properly. However, their mis-use can be costly. Learn some useful tips to avoid problems in this area.

Whilst some of the more interesting cases that I report on relate to employers losing unfair dismissal cases in the EAT, there are also plenty of cases where employees are not successful in bringing an unfair dismissal claim. Here are two of them for your review.

The EAT recently refused a preliminary application from a claimant in an unfair dismissal case to have the proceedings recorded by an Iphone App and said it would undermine the integrity of how they conduct hearings within an informal atmosphere.

Did you know that annual leave entitlement accrues on a statutory basis for all employees regardless of employment status and length of time worked? A former employee of O Brien's Sandwich Bars (albeit short term) was successful in her claim under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 for leave due from the short half day trial period that she had worked.

Two recent cases published by the EAT once again illustrate the difficulty that employers face in arriving at a fair outcome when making a decision to dismiss employees for misconduct. In both cases involving large retail organisations, the decisions to dismiss were deemed dis-proportionate despite admitted fraudulent behavior and the existence of a previous final written warning.